The Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) created a consensus-based framework consisting of phenotypic and etiologic criteria to record the occurrence of malnutrition in adults. This is ...a minimum set of practicable indicators for use in characterizing a patient/client as malnourished, considering the global variations in screening and nutrition assessment, and to be used across different health care settings. As with other consensus-based frameworks for diagnosing disease states, these operational criteria require validation and reliability testing as they are currently based solely on expert opinion.
Several forms of validation and reliability are reviewed in the context of GLIM, providing guidance on how to conduct retrospective and prospective studies for criterion and construct validity.
There are some aspects of GLIM criteria which require refinement; research using large data bases can be employed to reach this goal. Machine learning is also introduced as a potential method to support identification of the best cut-points and combinations of operational criteria for use with the different forms of malnutrition, which the GLIM criteria were created to denote. It is noted as well that the validation and reliability testing need to occur in a variety of sectors, populations and with diverse persons completing the criteria.
The guidance presented supports the conduct and publication of quality validation and reliability studies for GLIM.
We present here a new solution for the astronomical computation of the insolation quantities on Earth spanning from -250 Myr to 250 Myr. This solution has been improved with respect to La93 (Laskar ...et al. CITE) by using a direct integration of the gravitational equations for the orbital motion, and by improving the dissipative contributions, in particular in the evolution of the Earth–Moon System. The orbital solution has been used for the calibration of the Neogene period (Lourens et al. CITE), and is expected to be used for age calibrations of paleoclimatic data over 40 to 50 Myr, eventually over the full Palaeogene period (65 Myr) with caution. Beyond this time span, the chaotic evolution of the orbits prevents a precise determination of the Earth's motion. However, the most regular components of the orbital solution could still be used over a much longer time span, which is why we provide here the solution over 250 Myr. Over this time interval, the most striking feature of the obliquity solution, apart from a secular global increase due to tidal dissipation, is a strong decrease of about 0.38 degree in the next few millions of years, due to the crossing of the $s_6+g_5-g_6$ resonance (Laskar et al. CITE). For the calibration of the Mesozoic time scale (about 65 to 250 Myr), we propose to use the term of largest amplitude in the eccentricity, related to $g_2-g_5$, with a fixed frequency of $3.200''$/yr, corresponding to a period of 405 000 yr. The uncertainty of this time scale over 100 Myr should be about $0.1\%$, and $0.2\%$ over the full Mesozoic era.
The activation of high-affinity root transport systems is the best-conserved strategy employed by plants to cope with low inorganic phosphate (Pi) availability, a role traditionally assigned to Pi ...transporters of the Pht1 family, whose respective contributions to Pi acquisition remain unclear.
To characterize the Arabidopsis thaliana Pht1;9 transporter, we combined heterologous functional expression in yeast with expression/subcellular localization studies and reverse genetics approaches in planta. Double Pht1;9/Pht1;8 silencing lines were also generated to gain insight into the role of the closest Pht1;9 homolog.
Pht1;9 encodes a functional plasma membrane-localized transporter that mediates high-affinity Pi/H+ symport activity in yeast and is highly induced in Pi-starved Arabidopsis roots. Null pht1;9 alleles exhibit exacerbated responses to prolonged Pi limitation and enhanced tolerance to arsenate exposure, whereas Pht1;9 overexpression induces the opposite phenotypes. Strikingly, Pht1;9/Pht1;8 silencing lines display more pronounced defects than the pht1;9 mutants.
Pi and arsenic plant content analyses confirmed a role of Pht1;9 in Pi acquisition during Pi starvation and arsenate uptake at the root–soil interface. Although not affecting plant internal Pi repartition, Pht1;9 activity influences the overall Arabidopsis Pi status. Finally, our results indicate that both the Pht1;9 and Pht1;8 transporters function in sustaining plant Pi supply on environmental Pi depletion.
Over the past two years, the search for low-mass extrasolar planets has led to the detection of seven so-called 'hot Neptunes' or 'super-Earths' around Sun-like stars. These planets have masses 5-20 ...times larger than the Earth and are mainly found on close-in orbits with periods of 2-15 days. Here we report a system of three Neptune-mass planets with periods of 8.67, 31.6 and 197 days, orbiting the nearby star HD 69830. This star was already known to show an infrared excess possibly caused by an asteroid belt within 1 au (the Sun-Earth distance). Simulations show that the system is in a dynamically stable configuration. Theoretical calculations favour a mainly rocky composition for both inner planets, while the outer planet probably has a significant gaseous envelope surrounding its rocky/icy core; the outer planet orbits within the habitable zone of this star.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Most Neptune-mass planets in close-in orbits (orbital periods less than a few days) present nonzero eccentricity, typically around 0.15. This is somehow unexpected, as these planets undergo strong ...tidal dissipation that should circularize their orbits in a timescale shorter than the age of the system. In this paper we discuss some mechanisms that can oppose to bodily tides, namely, thermal atmospheric tides, evaporation of the atmosphere, and excitation from a distant companion. In the first two cases, the eccentricity can increase consistently, while in the last one, the eccentricity can only be excited for a limited amount of time (that may nevertheless exceed the age of the system). We show the limitations of these different mechanisms and how some of them could, depending on specific properties of the observed planetary systems, account for their presently observed eccentricities.
Lectins as antimicrobial agents Breitenbach Barroso Coelho, L.C.; Marcelino dos Santos Silva, P.; Felix de Oliveira, W. ...
Journal of applied microbiology,
November 2018, 2018-Nov, 2018-11-00, 20181101, Letnik:
125, Številka:
5
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Summary
The resistance of micro‐organisms to antimicrobial agents has been a challenge to treat animal and human infections, and for environmental control. Lectins are natural proteins and some are ...potent antimicrobials through binding to carbohydrates on microbial surfaces. Oligomerization state of lectins can influence their biological activity and maximum binding capacity; the association among lectin polypeptide chains can alter the carbohydrate–lectin binding dissociation rate constants. Antimicrobial mechanisms of lectins include the pore formation ability, followed by changes in the cell permeability and latter, indicates interactions with the bacterial cell wall components. In addition, the antifungal activity of lectins is associated with the chitin‐binding property, resulting in the disintegration of the cell wall or the arrest of de novo synthesis from the cell wall during fungal development or division. Quorum sensing is a cell‐to‐cell communication process that allows interspecies and interkingdom signalling which coordinate virulence genes; antiquorum‐sensing therapies are described for animal and plant lectins. This review article, among other approaches, evaluates lectins as antimicrobials.
Monitoring the vital signs of mice is an essential practice during imaging procedures to avoid populational losses and improve image quality. For this purpose, a system based on a set of devices ...(piezoelectric sensor, optical module and thermistor) able to detect the heart rate, respiratory rate, body temperature and arterial blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) in mice anesthetized with sevoflurane was implemented. Results were validated by comparison with the reported literature on similar anesthetics. A new non-invasive electrocardiogram (ECG) module was developed, and its first results reflect the viability of its integration in the system. The sensors were strategically positioned on mice, and the signals were acquired through a custom-made printed circuit board during imaging procedures with a micro-PET (Positron Emission Tomography). For sevoflurane concentration of 1.5%, the average values obtained were: 388 bpm (beats/minute), 124 rpm (respirations/minute) and 88.9% for the heart rate, respiratory rate and SpO2, respectively. From the ECG information, the value obtained for the heart rate was around 352 bpm for injectable anesthesia. The results compare favorably to the ones established in the literature, proving the reliability of the proposed system. The ECG measurements show its potential for mice heart monitoring during imaging acquisitions and thus for integration into the developed system.
A giant collision is believed to be at the origin of the Pluto–Charon system. As a result, the initial orbit and spins after impact may have substantially differed from those observed today. More ...precisely, the distance at periapse may have been shorter, subsequently expanding to its current separation by tides raised simultaneously on the two bodies. Here we provide a general 3D model to study the tidal evolution of a binary composed of two triaxial bodies orbiting a central star. We apply this model to the Pluto–Charon binary, and notice some interesting constraints on the initial system. We observe that when the eccentricity evolves to high values, the presence of the Sun prevents Charon from escaping because of Lidov-Kozai cycles. However, for a high initial obliquity for Pluto or a spin-orbit capture of Charon’s rotation, the binary eccentricity is damped very efficiently. As a result, the system can maintain a moderate eccentricity throughout its evolution, even for strong tidal dissipation on Pluto.
As the obliquity of Mars is strongly chaotic, it is not possible to give a solution for its evolution over more than a few million years. Using the most recent data for the rotational state of Mars, ...and a new numerical integration of the Solar System, we provide here a precise solution for the evolution of Mars' spin over 10 to 20 Myr. Over 250 Myr, we present a statistical study of its possible evolution, when considering the uncertainties in the present rotational state. Over much longer time span, reaching 5 Gyr, chaotic diffusion prevails, and we have performed an extensive statistical analysis of the orbital and rotational evolution of Mars, relying on Laskar's secular solution of the Solar System, based on more than 600 orbital and 200,000 obliquity solutions over 5 Gyr. The density functions of the eccentricity and obliquity are specified with simple analytical formulas. We found an averaged eccentricity of Mars over 5 Gyr of 0.0690 with standard deviation 0.0299, while the averaged value of the obliquity is 37.62° with a standard deviation of 13.82°, and a maximal value of 82.035°. We find that the probability for Mars' obliquity to have reached more than 60° in the past 1 Gyr is 63.0%, and 89.3% in 3 Gyr. Over 4 Gyr, the position of Mars' axis is given by a uniform distribution on a spherical cap limited by the obliquity 58.62°, with the addition of a random noise allowing a slow diffusion beyond this limit. We can also define a standard model of Mars' insolation parameters over 4 Gyr with the most probable values 0.068 for the eccentricity and 41.80° for the obliquity.
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